Community Engagement
Done right, community engagement builds trust – even when consensus is out of reach. It brings fresh thinking, new voices, and creates a more informed and involved public. Decisions made with the public are better decisions, and better accepted.
But the reality of crafting and running an engagement process can be overwhelming. It takes a methodical, data-driven strategy, ease with all kinds of stakeholder groups, and a knack for making it easy and fun to get people involved.
MAPC brings award-winning community engagement to your project. We seek people out and draw them in, even from groups that tend to be hard to reach and engage. That means new ideas, new participants, and plans with wider support. We work to make data, tradeoffs, and the entire planning process inclusive, clear, and accessible to all. With our regional, equity-centered lens and deep connections with diverse networks and partners your projects are sure to be a success.
Our team can teach you how to improve your community engagement practice through trainings and workshops, or you can hire us to consult on your project! Learn more below.
Our Values
- Equitable community engagement
- Transparency
- Stewardship
- Accessibility
- Resilience
- Transformation
- Accountability
Upcoming Events
No events are scheduled at this time. Please check back often!
Questions?
To discuss how your project can benefit from our community engagement expertise, contact the Community Engagement team at [email protected].
community engagement services
consulting services
Sometimes you need an extra pair of hands. You can hire our team directly to lead or assist with community engagement for your projects. Our consulting services include:
We're excited to help out with your public participation efforts! To get started, email [email protected] to set up a 30-minute consultation call.
workshops and trainings
Does your municipality, community development corporation, university, non-profit, or coalition want to improve its community engagement practice? We want to work with you! Our team offers the workshops below:
Contact us at [email protected] to book a training!
Interested in learning about an aspect of community engagement that you don't see here? Reach out to us! We can work with you to provide a tailored workshop experience based on our desired focus and goals.
...and more
We offer even more than trainings and consulting services, including:
Downtown Framingham Small Business Tour
Downtown Framingham has become a hub for entrepreneurs from all over the world, with at least 20 different nationalities among its local business owners. But many immigrant business owners were disconnected from local government and fighting perceptions of Downtown Framingham as dirty and unwelcoming.
The tour created a space for participants from the public, private, and non-profit sector to connect around issues relevant to Downtown Framingham, including Town staff, the business community, service organizations, immigrant advocates, news media, developers, brokers, local colleges, and active citizens.
Over the course of two and a half hours, 55 town leaders came together to learn about the diversity of businesses in its downtown area and to hear the stories, challenges, and contributions of these entrepreneurs.
Downtown Lynn Visioning
Community Engagement was a critical component of MAPC's efforts to build on the vision for Downtown Lynn.
Community engagement efforts included assembling a team of advisors, conducting interviews with community leaders, giving presentations to community-based organizations, attending community events, collecting land use and property data using local volunteers, and hosting two public forums in Downtown Lynn.
Community Engagement Conversations Series
Hosted by the Community Engagement Team, these once-a-month conversations from September 2024 through May 2025, covered various topics. You can find recordings and presentation slides of the sessions on the project webpage.
Hybrid Engagement Hub: Navigating Together
Interested in offering hybrid meetings with opportunities for both online and in-person public participation? Learn more in our webinar series and other hybrid engagement resources.
Virtual Engagement Toolbox
A guide to digital engagement tools and methods that municipal staff can use to engage the public remotely. This document is intended as a resource and does not constitute an endorsement of any of these tools.
Group Agreements Guide
Group agreements are an essential part of any well-facilitated meeting, setting the tone and acting as a way to hold participants accountable in a shared conversation. Our guide describes how and when to use group agreements and makes specific recommendations for your meetings.
Community Engagement Recipe Book
A menu of community engagement tactics you can use for your project. Click through to learn about strategies such as focus groups, participatory budgeting, and more!
Shared Practices for Engagement in Virtual Meetings
This document and webinar assembles our top recommendations and shared practices for digital community engagement, before, during, and after your meeting.
Community Engagement Strategy
Use this chart to help think through your community engagement strategy, from your purpose to your approach.
Meeting Design Guidelines
Use this chart to design your meeting and help participants explore, share, connect, and reflect.
Meet the Young Artists Featured at MAPC
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Shipping Container to Interactive Exhibit: Housing> at HUBweek
Eastern Massachusetts faces a housing shortage that threatens our families and communities, our economic prospects, and our quality of life. Communities are working to create […]
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Written by Patricia Walsh of Americans for the Arts and Mallory Nezam of MAPC On Tuesday, May 27, and Friday, April 6, community members and […]
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Help Build a Sculptural Garden Along Northern Strand Community Trail
Written by Carolyn Lewenberg at MAPC with additional comments provided by Emily Nink, Kathleen O’Brien, and Jenn Erickson Community gardeners and other members of the […]
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Building Capacity for Creative Placemaking
Written by Patricia Walsh at AFTA with additional comments provided by Jennifer Henaghan at APA and Jennifer Erickson at MAPC Creative placemaking has been an […]
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Exploring Art’s role in Green Infrastructure
Article written by Deidra Montgomery, with content provided by Carolyn Lewenberg On Monday, January 29, more than 70 artists, arts administrators, and regional and municipal […]
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